Mexico's lower house of Congress has passed a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana use, bringing it a step closer to a country where violent drug cartels now control the market, according to Agence France-Presse Friday.
The legislation was passed with 316 votes in favor and 129 opposed. The bill would only allow recreational marijuana use in Mexico for those 18 years and older and with a medical authorization.
The bill would make the country one of the biggest markets for the legal marijuana industry, along with Canada and Uruguay.
"It's historic ... you have the end of prohibition of more than 100 years," Politico quoted Luis Armendáriz, a cannabis legal counsel with the Hoban Law Group, as saying. HLG works with companies seeking to enter Mexico's market.
The legislation will now have to be approved by Mexico's Senate, or the upper house of Congress. It was previously passed by the Senate in November, but requires another vote after amendments in the lower chamber.
According to Lisa Sanchez, chief of Mexico United Against Crime, marijuana grows in natural conditions without the electricity investments that are made in Canada. "In theory, it will create the biggest legal market in the world because of Mexico's production capacity," she said.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose party strongly supports the proposal, is expected to sign the bill. He said the legislation could curb drug-related violence and improve security in the country.
Obrador has imposed a strategy called "Abrazos, no balazos" (Hugs, not bullets) since 2018, whose objective is to tackle poverty and social inequality as a means of reducing drug-related violence.
He has declared the end of the country's war on drugs, but cartel violence has increased in recent years, DW reported.
